An Introduction to Environmental Justice

the vibe

🌍 Who gets to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live free from environmental harm? Environmental justice is the principle that all people, regardless of race, income, or background, deserve equal protection from environmental hazards and equal access to healthy environments. In practice, those protections are distributed anything but equally. Mona Shomali, an Iranian American author, visual artist, and former adjunct faculty professor, has spent years working at the intersection of environmental justice and human rights, including with Communities for a Better Environment and Pesticide Action Network. In this lecture, Mona introduces the history and importance of environmental justice by examining how environmental burdens fall disproportionately on marginalized communities. She walks through three case studies. The Flint water crisis, Latino farmworkers in California's San Joaquin Valley, and the Sarayaku Indigenous tribe's landmark case against Ecuador in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Together these stories reveal both the scale of the problem and the power of communities fighting back. ⚖️ 🕰 Event Details What should I expect? 7:00-7:35 --> arrival & chats 7:35-8:20 --> lecture 8:20-9:00 --> q&a and more chatting Who's invited? Anyone with an interest in learning new things, meeting new people, and doing fun things on weeknights! Lots of people came solo to our last event, so don't be afraid to do the same—you'll meet some awesome people! What about…